Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal recently offered refreshing takes on reality over the year and had another bit of wisdom on social media. The former Los Angeles Laker took to X and discussed what he’s realized more as he’s gotten older, with the post receiving over three million impressions.

He wrote, “The older you get, the more you realize how precious life is. You have no desire for drama, conflict, or stress. You just want good friends, a cozy home, food on the table, and people who make you happy.” O’Neal is one of the most famous basketball players ever to play the game. His popularity is only dwarfed by LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant among players from the 1990s and early 2000s.

In April, he opened up about not letting the celebrity limelight get to him, telling People Magazine, “I denounced myself from being a celebrity 30 years ago because a lot of celebrities are a—holes. I don’t want to be in that category. I’d rather demote myself to being just a regular person because you call me a celebrity and put me in a category of those jerks.” Two months later, O’Neal reflected on his past relationships, telling R&B singer Monica on her Apple Music Hits Show, “Mo Talk Radio,” about how he “messed it up” with Arnetta Yardbourgh and Shaunie Nelson.

The older you get the more you realize how precious life is. You have no desire for drama, conflict or stress. You just want good friends, a cozy home, food on the table, and people who make you happy.

— SHAQ (@SHAQ) November 7, 2023

He said, “I had two perfect women, and I messed it up. My first one was my baby’s mother, Arnetta, and then I met Shaunie. Shaunie was also a perfect woman, and I messed it up. Yeah, you know, we were young and always doing dumb stuff. But the good thing about our relationship is that they forgave me, and we have a good relationship now. But when you ask me about the perfect woman, I had two perfect women, and I messed it up just by, you know, being dumb.”

Then, O’Neal provided advice on some of the lessons he has learned in his life. He explained, “First thing, you have to be honest, honest with yourself and honest with your partner. I tell my sons all the time a man has three jobs when it comes to a woman: protect, provide, and love. Some men can only offer two for whatever reason, but I’m going to teach you how to offer all three. And that’s what I try to do, and even though I don’t have a relationship with the women that I let get away, I will always PPL: protect, provide and love. Whatever they need, they get it from me.”

O’Neal said he would always “protect” Nelson no matter what. He also referred to Yardbourgh as his “first love.”